Soul Hard
by zzilly14
Summary: AU, before S2 ep School Hard. Spike arrives in Sunnydale.
1. Chapter 1

_Joss Whedon created BtVS and its characters. Not me._

Started out as a response to TV100 LJ community's challenge of Prompt Suggestions, using two prompts:

-ashes, broken shoelace, photograph  
-bells, tendrils of smoke, crunch

**Soul Hard  
Chapter 1  
**by Zzilly14  


  
The ashes took to the air, the wind picking them and carrying them to the other side of the cemetery, where they gently fell over an unnamed grave.

"Stupid vampire. He ruined my new shoes!"

The blonde Slayer bent down to examine her now-dirty sneakers. One of the shoelaces was somehow broken.

"Mom's gonna kill me!"

"Unless she doesn't know about it."

It was like a black and white photograph she had seen once upon a time - a tall figure leaning up against a headstone, arms crossed, face obscured by the darkness.

"Angel," she sighed breathlessly. "Can you clean shoes?"

...

The two climbed up to Buffy's bedroom, not noticing the tendrils of smoke drifting around the tree outside.

"So... how can we fix these very expensive Sketchers?"

Angel scratched his head. "Wash them?"

"With what? Soap?"

"Uh... probably."

"Well, I'm going downstairs to grab some. And a Crunch bar too. I'm hungry. Stay here and... don't touch anything."

As Angel stood waiting for Buffy to return, a familiar scent caused warning bells to ring out. He ran to the window and growled when he saw Spike smoking a cigarette in the front yard.

"What's he doing here?"

"Who's the who?" Buffy wondered as she returned.

"Spike."

She laughed. "Spike? Sounds like he could be a punk singer with acid green hair."

"He's a vampire. Also known as William the Bloody," Angel seethed.

"Okay, let me grab my stake and..."

Angel grabbed Buffy's wrist. "He's dangerous, Buffy."

"I think I can handle vampires."

"Not this one. He's... he's killed two Slayers."

"What?"

"Stay here, and I'll take care of him."

"Oh, so I'm just supposed to stand back and watch you die?"

Angel raised his eyebrows. "It's nice to know you have so much faith in me."

Before Buffy could respond, a loud British voice echoed to their ears. "I know you're up there, Slayer."

"Great, now what?" Buffy wondered. She stepped to the window and stared at the figure below.

He had bright bleach blond hair and a long black leather jacket for contrast. He was exhaling some smoke when his eyes caught a glimpse of the infamous Sunnydale Slayer.

"She's a nice one," he remarked quietly.

"Okay, Spike, is it?" Buffy yelled down. "I've had a rough day. Can we postpone the whole fighting thing until tomorrow?"

He laughed as he put out the cigarette on the sidewalk. "Never said I was wanting a fight, love."

"Of course. You want me to come down there and offer my neck freely so you can suck me dry. No thanks, I'm staying right here."

Spike shrugged his shoulders. "That's fine with me."

Suddenly Angel surprised Spike from behind and pinned him to the tree.

"You're gonna stay away from Buffy," he growled.

"Angelus!" Spike grinned. "Good to see you, friend. How's the soul treating you?"

"Leave town, Spike. And take Drusilla with you."

Spike scoffed, "I never said Dru was here."

"Yeah, well, wherever you are, she happens to not be far behind."

"Dru's not here, Angel. She's off in Brazil. With a Chaos demon, of all things."

Angel attempted to stifle a laugh.

"Laugh all you want, Peaches. I don't care anymore."

...

Buffy watched the situation below her skeptically. Angel was talking to Spike like... like they knew each other.

"What isn't Angel telling me?" she wondered.  



	2. Chapter 2

_Joss Whedon created BtVS and its characters. Not me._

**Soul Hard  
Chapter 2  
**by Zzilly14  


  
Angel couldn't believe his ears. "You don't care? I thought your love with Dru was eternal."

"Well, she had a change of heart." Spike paused. "Actually, I was the one who did the changing."

Angel stared into Spike's blue eyes and let go of him in shock. "How?"

Buffy appeared on the scene, stake in hand. "What's going on? How what?"

The dark-haired vampire looked at the Slayer and shook his head. "Just let him go, Buffy."

"But evil vampire!" she protested, pointing at the bleach blond. "In front of my house!"

Spike laughed. "Love, the only evil thing here is my smoking habit."

"Angel?" she asked, looking at her boyfriend.

"He has a soul."

Buffy burst into laughter. "Are you kidding me? Another vampire with a soul?" As the giggles tapered off, she shook her head. "He's lying. It's an act. A big... bad... act. Right?"

"He didn't even tell me. I can see it." Angel looked at Spike. "How'd you get it?"

"After I killed Slayer Number Two back in the 70s, Dru and I went to Africa. Heard the next Slayer was there, and I thought Dru should have a chance at bagging one."

"For some reason I'm not impressed," Buffy interrupted. "Can I kill him yet?"

"Sod off, Slayer. I'm not done yet. Anyway, we found the village where this girl was at, yeah? Turns out she wasn't all there. A little crazy, she was."

Angel laughed, "The perfect opponent for Drusilla."

"The Slayer cursed us with voodoo or some such thing. Somehow Dru escaped... but I didn't. I couldn't even move. The villagers tied me up to a pole and I thought they were going to burn me."

"Too bad they..." Buffy began, but Angel placed his fingers on her mouth.

"Then this bloke wearing feathers screams in my face, and suddenly everyone was dancing around me, chanting. I could hear the Slayer's voice distinctly among the noise: 'Return, return, return!'"

"And?" Angel prodded.

"And I blacked out as they started untying me from the pole. When I woke up, I wasn't the same vampire. The villagers gave me pig's blood to drink until I felt ready to leave."

"What happened to Drusilla?" Angel asked.

"The bitch left the country... went to Prague, I think, for some fun. Ended up getting burned at the stake by an angry mob. Served her right, the evil bint."

"What about the crazy Slayer?" Buffy wondered.

"She... she was the one who took care of me the most while I recovered from my guilt. Made sure I had enough blood to keep me. Recited nonsense poetry..."

Angel grinned, "Like you used to?"

"This guy's a poet?" Buffy grinned.

Spike rolled his eyes as he lit another cigarette. "Formerly. Even after I was changed I continued writing the bloody stuff. But I stopped when Ayanna..." He paused sadly.

"You loved her," Angel realized.

"Still do," he replied, throwing the cigarette onto the sidewalk. "I was there when it happened, you know. Watched her die. And there was nothing I could do about it."

Buffy's heart began to ease. "I'm sorry."

He looked into her green eyes and smiled softly. "It's alright, Bit. I've moved on."  



End file.
